Negation
alternate forms (2) ne…aucun, ni…ni, que
Ne / n’ … aucun(e) + noun conveys the idea of ‘absolutely no, not a single’ + noun. Aucun agrees in gender with the word that follows.
| Bette: Alors Tex, Tammy est malade? | Bette: So Tex, is Tammy ill? | |
| Tex: Aucune idée. Je suis passé chez elle hier soir et il n’y avait personne. Je n’ai reçu aucun coup de téléphone et aucune nouvelle depuis deux jours … | Tex: I have no idea. I went to her place last night and there was nobody there. I have received no phone call and no news for two days … |
Ne … ni … ni is commonly translated as ‘neither … nor’. It is used in a similar way as the English expression. Note, however, that in French the verb has to be preceded by ne (or n’ in front of a vowel or a mute h).
| Bette: Et moi, je n’ai vu Tammy ni hier ni aujourd’hui. | Bette: And me, I saw Tammy neither yesterday nor today. | |
| Tex: Ni moi ni Fiona n’avons vu Tammy hier. Et aujourd’hui, Tammy ne m’a ni téléphoné ni écrit un e-mail. Je m’inquiète. Tu crois qu’elle est partie avec un autre tatou? | Tex: Neither I nor Fiona saw her yesterday. And today, Tammy neither called me nor wrote me an e-mail. I am worried. Do you think she left with another armadillo? |
Ne … que is used to express a restriction. It is usually translated as ‘only’.
| Bette: Peut-être … Après tout, cela ne fait qu’un an que vous êtes ensemble … | Bette: Maybe … After all it has only been a year that you’ve been together … | |
| Tex: Oh, merci Bette! Il n’y a que toi pour dire des choses pareilles! | Tex: Oh, thanks Bette! Only you can say such things! |
